Seeking once again the help of God, I'd like us to turn together to the chapter that we read, the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 16, and the text you'll find in verses 15 and 16. And he said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

This morning we looked at the the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and not just the birth but the name by which he was to be called and that name was chosen for him by, not by Mary and Joseph, that name was chosen for him by God, his Father who is in heaven. And that name was not chosen just because that God liked the name, but that the name was chosen because of the work that the Lord Jesus Christ had come to do.

that his name should be called Jesus, which is Jehovah saves, coming from Joshua, a type of Christ that he, as Joshua brought the people of Israel into the promised land. And so this Jesus, who is the fulfilment or the perfect Joshua, he was going to bring his people into the promised land. And by bringing them into the promised land, they must come to, they must come and have their sins forgiven.

that Jesus came with that specific purpose to save people from their sin. And so the name of the Lord Jesus Christ was given because of the work that he came to do. And I mentioned that we may choose names because we like them. We can't look down the channel of time and choose a name for our child because of the work that they might do in the future.

But the Lord Jesus Christ came to save his people from their sin that was the work that he was going to do that was the work that was going to be accomplished and therefore God could call him Jesus at the beginning of his life because he was going to complete the work that the father gave him to do and he was going to lose none of those that the father gave to him that the sheep as they are called, that Christ would lose none of them.

And so his name was to be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And we saw that Mary and Joseph were obedient to the word of the Lord. They obeyed the voice of the angel. They didn't say, well, we don't like the name Jesus. They obeyed the the voice of the angel and on the eighth day he was named Jesus as he was circumcised as Christ began that perfect work, that obedience to the whole law of God, walking in obedience to the will of God and also to the law of God.

And we see as Christ begins his ministry, as he grows up, after he is baptised, he is then anointed and it is declared to John the Baptist that this is the Christ, this is the Lamb of God. As he rises up from the waters of baptism in the River Jordan, the Spirit of God descends upon him like a dove and Christ is anointed above measure. He now begins the work, the visual work, the external ministry, his preaching ministry that was given him to do.

And there is that cry that comes from heaven, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And as Christ then begins his public ministry, as he goes teaching, and preaching and healing, he calls those apostles to himself. He calls those men that would be his representatives here upon earth, those who would go forth into the world with this gospel and proclaim that Christ was born in Bethlehem according to the prophets and that he died upon the cross, that he rose again in newness of life and whoever believes upon him will not perish but have everlasting life. Whoever believes upon the Lord Jesus Christ, it will be proved to them that Christ came into the world to pay the price for their sin, that he came as that his name is to be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And I said it can never be forgotten, can it? Because it's written in his name. He will always be called Jesus Christ from the very birth to eternity. He is always Jesus and his name will always remind his dear people of why he came into this world. He came to save them, that Jehovah saves, that Christ saves from sin.

But he doesn't save everybody. If he saved every single person, then every single person would be fully trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ. But we see that's not the case. We see that although God gave his gift to the whole world, yet the whole world does not trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, for they don't see any beauty in his name. They don't see any need of his saving work. And it is only to those whom the Spirit gives the ability to see and to behold the beauty of Christ that it's to those that he came.

Jesus says to Simon Peter, but who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonah. Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. He says that your own flesh and blood can never come to grasp the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God, that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God. It can't happen. The scripture tells us by our nature we are blind. We are unable to lay hold of spiritual truth for they are foolishness to us.

John says he came unto his own and his own received him not. The Jews, he came to the Jews. They didn't receive him. The shepherds, they had the special revelation and they went to the Lord Jesus. The Gentiles, the wise men came from the east. They saw the star of the Lord Jesus Christ and they followed that star and they came and they found the Lord Jesus Christ and they fell down and worshipped him. They knew who he was, the king that would come. But flesh and blood had not revealed it to them but my father, God had revealed it unto them. And they fell down and worshipped him.

You imagine they beheld a king yet in the lowly Bethlehem. They came and presented these kingly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to this poor family. Mary and Joseph as a poor family. They came and presented gifts worthy of a king. The natural mind cannot comprehend the spiritual things of God. By faith they came. By faith they viewed Christ as king. By faith they gave their gifts and by faith they worshipped him.

The Jews rejected but as many as received him. To them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And so John repeats a similar expression to what the Lord Jesus Christ says. It's not of your flesh. It's not of your body to see any beauty in Christ. But if you come to see any beauty in Christ, if you come to fall and worship the Lord Jesus Christ, it is because God the Father has revealed to you some beauty in Christ Jesus. and that you see your need of him.

Simon Peter saw his need of Christ. He was a follower of John the Baptist. He was introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ by his brother. And they became followers of Christ as Christ called them to follow him. But Jesus knew Simon before Simon knew Jesus. As Simon is being brought to Jesus by Andrew his brother he says we have found a Messiah which is interpreted to Christ. And he brought him to Jesus. So we have Andrew who meets Jesus first. He comes and he tells his brother, look, Simon, I've found the Messiah, the Christ. Come and see him. And as Simon is being brought to the Lord Jesus, Jesus begins to speak.

And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus saw him, he says, thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. Revealing to Peter, that Christ's knowledge is without bounds. He is all-knowing, omniscient. He knows everything. And that even before Simon Peter comes and introduces himself to the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ knows who he is. And that would be the same with any sinner that comes to the Lord Jesus. They come because Christ knows them. He knows their name because he died already for them. Their name was secured in eternity past. And that any sinner who comes to Christ, it does not come and make Jesus surprised. They come because he has drawn them to himself. He knows your name. As he knew exactly who Simon Peter was, he knew who Simon Peter's dad was. He knew everything about him.

And so as Simon Peter comes, Jesus says to him, thou art Simon, son of Jonah. But then he does something. He changes his name. Not only does he know who Simon Peter is, but he also knows what Simon Peter will become. Our lives are mapped out by God that he as he said to Jeremiah before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee and ordained thee a prophet. Jeremiah was known before he was conceived in the womb. So was Simon Peter so were you and so was I. But he also knows what we will be. He says thou shalt be called Cephas.

If we look at the Lord Jesus Christ often we find, or occasionally we find, that he uses Aramaic words. So we have, We have the Lord Jesus on the cross. We have him speaking in this Aramaic language. And here we see the Lord Jesus Christ using an Aramaic word, Cephas, which John translates as a stone. At Simon Peter's name, Simon meaning that God hears that now Jesus is saying that I'm changing your name and I'm changing your name to become a stone. We go over to the Greek. The Greek word for stone is petros, a stone or a rock, which is why in the other Gospels it speaks of him as Simon Peter. That is Simon Peter, Simon Cephas. He is the rock.

We see in the chapter that we read, the Lord Jesus Christ says, thou art Peter, thou art Cephas. Thou art the rock and upon this rock I will build my church. He had a name change because the Lord was going to use him to lay the foundation of his church. There is no other foundation that any man can lay other than that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter laid the foundation stone which is the Lord Jesus Christ. and upon that rock, that testimonial rock that he preached which is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Christ, the Son of the living God. And so Peter, his name is changed to a stone or to a rock and this Peter now has a love for the Lord Jesus Christ and this Jesus Christ becomes his rock.

We know that Jesus Christ, he is the rock, he is the foundation stone. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 it tells us there of the rock by which the water flowed in the wilderness and all did drink of the same spiritual drink for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was Christ. Psalm 100. The Bible tells us there that the psalmist speaks about God as a rock. A rock, that immovable object by which it can be the anchor for for our soul. And so as Peter, now he is the stone, he is the rock. But his trust is not in himself. His trust is in the rock that he preaches. The rock by which he proclaims and lays that foundation stone. By which he lays himself upon that rock. That he became, as other believers are, a living rock, a living stone that is added to that living building. that is being built day by day as believers are brought to a knowledge of the truth.

And so he says, the psalmist says in Psalm 18, I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress. and my deliverer, my God, my strength in whom I will trust, my buckle or my shield, and the horn of my salvation and my high tower.

Peter's confession was that he looked to Christ. The psalmist's confession is also that he looks to God, that he looks to the Lord Jehovah as his rock, his stability.

We look at our world constantly. It's constantly shifting, constantly changing. Things are on the move all the time. There's constantly news about various things and lines of thought. It's constantly like a restless sea. Yet in the midst of that restless sea is a rock, which is the Word of God, which is unchanging. The Lord is our rock, our stability. The Lord Jesus Christ was Peter's stability. His testimony was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. That was his rock. That was the anchor for his soul. That was his hope of heaven. That was the way by which his soul was going to be redeemed by trusting in the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

Do we have that? in our life? Do we have any anchor by which it is unaltered by time or circumstance? Do we have an unmovable rock in our life? What is it? What is it?

Now everything that we may put our trust in externally can be taken away from us. You think of those believers in Nigeria. You imagine if they had their hope, their trust, their rock was in their plot of land and they trusted, you know, everything's going to be all right because I've got this plot of land. Everything is sorted. You know, we're going to have food. We're going to have provisions. We're going to have a pension. And then the Islamists come through and chase them from their land. What's happened to that rock? What's happened to that security that they had? It's gone.

But if their rock is in Christ Jesus, then no matter what the Islamists take, they still have that rock because he goes with them along the way. Just as the water followed the Israelites in the wilderness, wherever they went, the water went. So wherever the believer goes, the rock goes. It can never be removed. It can never lose its strength. It is always stable. And therefore if the heavens and earth be removed, we still have the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our rock. and our stability, an immovable object which is an anchor for our never-dying soul, our hope for eternity.

And even if they take our lives, our hope still remains because Christ is there beyond the grave. He's still living. ever to live at the right hand of the Father, waiting for his people. So he remains the rock, the eternal rock.

But not only is he the rock, but he's also a fortress. A fortress is a place of security, a place of safety. And the Lord Jesus Christ is a place of safety. It's like a harbour in a storm by which we can sail into and be provided that shelter He's that fortress by which we can be safe from the onslaught of Satan and the attacks we experience from the kingdom of darkness. He's a place of safety like we talked about recently about the chicken in the fire. and how that chick preserved her chicks as she was burnt to death. The chicks remained safe. She became a fortress, a refuge for her chicks.

And so the Lord Jesus Christ is a refuge and a fortress. But you have to be in Him. You have to be in the fortress. You have to have that safety, have that trust. Those chicks outside of their mother, they would have been burnt to death just like she. And so it's to find shelter and safety inside the fortress of the Lord Jesus Christ. To put your hope and your trust in Jesus Christ and not in yourself. That he is your deliverer. Like Joshua was the deliverer. He brought the people safely into the promised land. Yes, the Lord led them through but he was their leader and Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ is the deliverer. He will deliver his people safely. He will save them from their sin. He will deliver them safely into glory. He is their strength.

The scripture tells us that we are given strength sufficient for every day, that we're not to worry about tomorrow, how we're going to cope tomorrow, how we're going to cope the next day. And often that's the case, isn't it? When we foresee that we have something that is due to take place, we begin to panic. Well, how am I going to deal with that? How am I going to sort all of this stuff out? What about this? What about that? And we begin to lose sight of our rock. You're going to lose sight of the Lord Jesus Christ and his strength as he has promised. Don't worry about tomorrow. Don't worry about the next day. Deal with today. I will help you through today then I will give you sufficient strength for tomorrow. That he is the believer's strength and we have to trust him. Trust him that he knows the best, the best way. He knows the best thing. As he knew Simon Peter before he even arrived, before Simon Peter even arrived at the Lord Jesus Christ, that he is all-knowing.

Therefore we are to trust him that he knows best. He knows how to deal with life's circumstances. He knows how to lead us and guide us and direct us in the way. For he is all-knowing, therefore we trust him. Just as the sheep trust the shepherd, they follow him. They know that he knows best. He knows where the water is. He knows where the grass is. He knows about the lions and the bears and the wolves. And so they look to him for their protection. And they trust him. They continue on. If you look at the sheep, they just continue on eating. They're trusting. Those trusting in their shepherd. They don't have anything else to worry about because their trust is in Christ Jesus. Their trust is in the good shepherd.

It is also their shield. We read about the armour of God that we have that shield of faith. We have our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ protects us. From the onslaught of Satan, from the fiery darts that he may seek to fire at us, those doubts and those fears, those oppositions, those persecutions, those temptations. We trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, our shield, our faith is in him. And the horn of my salvation. the horn of my salvation. If we go back to the Old Testament we see the Israelites had the ram's horn and it was a symbol of strength and power. Well not only strength and power, it was a symbol of victory. That when the battle was won they would blow the horn to signify victory, that the enemy had been defeated, that the people of God could come collectively together again and return to their homes.

And so he says, the Lord is the horn of my salvation, that Christ Jesus, he has got the victory, that the battle is won. The Lord Jesus Christ rose again upon the third day. signifying that the debt was paid, signifying that he'd been victorious over death. and that the grave could not hold him, signifying that God the Father was well satisfied, that the war was over, and that we could trust now in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He is the horn of my salvation and my high tower. He gives us that hiding place, that strength, that rock, that fortress, that he is the deliverer, just like Joshua. And so Peter now, he's called the rock or a stone, but his hope is not in himself. His hope is in the true rock of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as a builder, as he lays the foundation, as he begins to bricklay the wall, so Peter and the apostles begin to lay the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true rock. and they begin to proclaim salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ and this is their testimony.

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Just because Peter's trust was in Christ, it does not mean that his life was going to be easy. It does not mean that everything was going to go smoothly. He had to prove his own weakness. He had to prove his own fears. He had to prove that he was not capable to fight on his own for the Lord Jesus Christ and that he would deny him. But in his weakness he was able to see the strength of the Lord Jesus. The scripture tells us that my strength is perfected in weakness. And so Peter had to be brought down to realise his own weakness before the Lord could use him in a mighty way.

He denied the Lord Jesus Christ yet he is used by the Lord Jesus on the day of Pentecost for the preaching of the gospel and for the great gathering in of the first Pentecostal harvest. And he witnesses the Lord Jesus Christ working on his behalf.

Norman went to Acts chapter 12. As the gospel is going forward and they begin to experience persecution, Peter is arrested for preaching. Now it's here when he is arrested that he begins to see something of the power and the love of God. He's arrested and while he's arrested or while he's in prison the church, the early church pray without ceasing. for him. We sang already of prayer. And prayer is one of the most blessed gifts that God has given to his church, given to his people. That they can come to him at any time, at any place, They can come to him through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and they can ask him to work on their behalf. They can ask him to do the things that are impossible for them. As we saw with Mary, those things that are impossible, the Lord is able to do those things which are impossible. Nothing shall be called impossible with God.

And so the church, as Peter is in jail, they don't just say, oh, well, yeah, you know, it's persecution. People are going to be in jail. It's all part of it. And they're being a bit fatalistic. No. They pray without ceasing. They come together for a prayer meeting and they intercede, they petition the Lord on behalf of their beloved, their beloved Peter. And the Lord does something miraculous. He sends one of his angels while Peter is asleep.

And behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison. And he smoked Peter on the side, raised him up, and said, arise, get up quickly. And his chains fell off from off his hands. And the angel said unto him, gird thyself and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he said unto him, cast thy garment about thee. and follow me.

A miraculous intervention of God in the life of Peter, a miracle. The chains just fell off, the doors of the jail opened, the main gate that goes out onto the city opened of its own accord. Why? Because Peter's trust It's not in himself. His trust is in Almighty God. His trust is in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ has commissioned this man as his minister, as his apostle. And he is to go forth as a minister of the gospel and nothing can stop that taking place. If the Lord wants him in prison, he'll be in prison, just like the Apostle Paul. If the Lord wants him out of prison, he will get out of prison. Nothing can stop that will of God from being hindered. And so he dispatches his angel from heaven.

Often we see at this time of year, angels, little children dressed up as angels, and it can be almost made a mockery of. But the angels of God are God's ministering spirits that are around his throne, that are dispatched to do his work, whether it be for the protection of his people, whether it be for revelation, whether it be for guidance or understanding, as in Daniel's case, that Daniel was given understanding. Peter is given deliverance.

No doubt he's sitting there in his prison cell, though he's asleep, but there must have been times when he was sitting there waiting and wondering, well, how is all of this going to work out? The Lord has called me a rock. He's changed my name. I'm now Simon Cephas. And how am I going to continue on in the ministry of the word? How is all of this going to work out? And often we think like that. because our view is just fixed to the now. We know that God is able to work. We know that God is able to do great things, impossible things, but we still look, well, how is the Lord going to work this out? How is he going to do this? And often he comes in a mysterious and a miraculous way, just like here.

Even the church is surprised to see Peter turn up at the door. They've been praying for him. The Lord answers their prayers. Peter arrives at the door and they can't believe that it's actually him. They believe that maybe it's a ghost, the ghost of Peter. But he comes into their meeting and he explains to them all what the Lord had done and how he had been delivered from the jail.

But the Lord chose to use prayer, to weave prayer, the prayer of this church into his will. That the Lord's plans were not altered by the prayers of his people but he chose to weave the prayers of his people into his will. Why? For their encouragement. that He chose to bring sinful people alongside Him and to work with Him, that they may be encouraged, that they may have a testimony to tell, that it may increase and strengthen their faith, that their faith, just like Peter, the Christ, the Son of the living God, that was strengthened. That rock that they were laying hold to, they gripped it now even harder because they realised, this is true. God is the true and living God and He can do anything. He can deliver our beloved Simon Peter from the jail and he can bring him back to us. And so it just encourages them in their prayer. They see that Peter is delivered and we see it with Barnabas and Paul as they're in jail and that great earthquake that comes and the prison doors opened. And the jailer comes in, what must I do to be saved? And he confesses Christ and he's saved.

As we look at Simon Peter's testimony, you know, it's not 20 pages. It's not in-depth theology and a deep understanding of sin and a deep understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't dissect the doctrine of sin and Satan and Christ and God and salvation. It's just a few words. Just a few words. It wasn't long. It wasn't, as it were, learned. He didn't have to go to school for three years to learn about it. It was very simple and direct. And Jesus says, that is enough. That is enough. That is all you and I need to know about the Lord Jesus Christ. That he is the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God. That he came into this world to die for you. Thou art Jesus. Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. But thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

And Jesus says, blessed art thou, Simon, son of Jonah. Flesh and blood has not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, thou art Peter. Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And so Simon Peter is able to come to that simple testimony. You are the Messiah, the anointed one of God, and I'm going to leave everything and I'm going to follow you. And he did. And as he followed Christ, as he took up his cross and followed him, he witnessed the evidences of Christ at work in his life, bringing him, revealing to him in a deeper way his sin by causing him to deny Christ, but then forgiving him. then using him as an instrument to proclaim the gospel, then putting him in jail, then seeing him miraculously delivered, then using him to write letters to the churches to encourage the churches, then him losing his life, dying as a martyr for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Where is he today? He's in heaven. with this Jesus, the one who died to save people from his sins. May we have that same faith as Peter, that simple testimony, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. Amen.

Let's sing together our final hymn today from Hymns for Worship number 68.

68. Once in royal David's city stood a lowly cattle shed where a mother laid her baby in a manger for his bed. Mary was that mother mild, Jesus Christ her little child.

Hymns for Worship 68, tune 996. Mary was the mother of all, Jesus Christ, her baby boy. And to thee lift the whole world. Mother, in whose gentle arms we lay, Christian children, who must flee, ? God's little wheel of happiness ? ? Gives and smiles like nothing new ? ? And he bringeth for us happiness, and he shareth with us joy ? gentle is our Lord in heaven above, and He leads His children ? We stay cool with the Austin standing by ? ? We shall see him but in heaven ? ? Set at God's right hand on high ?

And I make the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father with the fellowship and communion of the Holy Spirit to be with you each now and forevermore. Amen.